The secret is out as closet artist Joanne Muirhead opens show at her own Jojo’s Café on Saturday

As the owner of Jojo’s Café, Joanne Muirhead has done much to promote both budding and accomplished local artists.

But she’s remained bashful about showing her own paintings to the point that she has largely kept her artistic talents a secret.

Her secret will be out when she opens a show at the café this Saturday along with local artist Louise Ruddell.

The Art and Music night that opens the show runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will feature music by local keyboardist and singer Joy Martin, as well as by Glendale Avenue, the stage name for guitarist and poet Christian Harfman.

Jim Peltier, who organizes the monthly Art and Music nights for Jojo’s, and is also Ruddell’s husband, said he and Jojo’s music organizer Alan Bleiken were probably the ones who came up with the idea of showing Muirhead’s work.

“I didn’t even know that she did art,” he said. “Then she let is slip that she did. That may or may not have been her mistake, but I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen.”

In fact, he took a chance by asking her to do the show before he even saw her paintings, but he has no regrets.

“We looked at it and it was really good stuff,” said Peltier. “She has a really interesting style. I like it… I know that one of them has sold already because I’m going to own it.”

Her colourful work with acrylics is mostly abstract, but there are some that are representational, though none are photorealistic.

“I think people are going to really enjoy looking at her work,” he added.

For her part, Muirhead is modest about her work, but she hopes her show will encourage other closet artists to step forward.

“I wouldn’t really call myself an artist,” she said. “I guess I’ve done painting for probably about 15 years, but that said, I only paint about three times a year. So I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. I’m still kind of feeling out how to do it.”

Despite her modesty, Muirhead said she’s been drawing since she was a child and has taken numerous workshops with Keremeos artist Bonny Roberts.

Those courses started about a decade ago with one devoted to abstracts and she learned by doing rather than by theoretical instruction.

“She (Roberts) was so encouraging,” Muirhead said. “It was so freeing. I didn’t even know how to hold a paintbrush. It was just amazing.”

Roberts provided guidance, but there were no rules, Muirhead said.

“She’s been the main influence for my artwork,” said Muirhead. “You’ll notice that in the pieces that you see.”

Among her other influences is the 19th century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who she considers her favourite.

“My art does not look anywhere near like his,” she quickly adds.

In the high-pressure work of running a popular coffeehouse, Muirhead says she finds relief when she’s able to paint.

“It’s like meditation,” she said. “I love it. It just lifts my spirits and the whole day goes by just like that. I just love the process. It’s a special thing and I’m not going to give it up.”

A retired friend of hers advised her not to wait until she’s retired to delve into art, “because by the time you’re retired, you might not feel like it, or you might be incapacitated or tired. Just do it now. So I’m very much into expanding horizons and life right now.”

Muirhead has been featuring work by local artists on her café walls for several years now, allowing them to sell their art without charging them a commission.

She’s helped some budding artists to become better known, opening new doors for them.

“I hope that maybe I can encourage some closet artists out there to come forward and not be afraid to show their work,” she said. “I think art is undervalued and unappreciated and the more that we can get this community to be more artistic and culturally full, the better.”

Muirhead said she’s honoured to be sharing the wall space with a professional like Ruddell, who she says, “is one of the nicest people on the face of the planet.”

Ruddell says she did more painting when she lived in Fort St. John before moving to Osoyoos about five years ago.

She paints in acrylics with a vivid palette and her impressionist paintings cover an eclectic range of subject matter.

Since moving here, she’s had two shows at Front Street Gallery in Penticton and has also sold work at Christmas markets.

Ruddell hopes that this show gives her the impetus to pick up her paintbrushes and get started again.

Muirhead also hopes this show is the start of more to come, noting that she and her husband have recently moved from a small suite into a larger house.

“I’m actually going to have my own art room so I can leave my stuff out,” she said. “I’m so excited about that because I’m going to be able to actually do some painting more than three times a year.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times